Krell KAV-400xi vs. Parasound A21+P3


Hi all,

Which one is better between Krell KAV-400xi and Parasound A21+P3?

I have a pair of NHT classic three with Kimber 8TC.

I am open for other amp that is less than $1,400.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you
trinnatee
Do we agree that Thiels require current to drive them properly? Yes, I thought so. Then if the 400xi doesn't have the current capability due to an inadequate power supply, why am I hearing such great air-moving, deep and extended bass from Donald Fagen's Morph the Cat on vinyl and I'm only running the amp on "35"? Oh yeah, and through rather current-demanding speakers. Sounds pretty freakin' effortless to me.

But then I'm proably wrong and don't know what I'm talking about, correct?
Audiobroke, thanx for the input - even if you somewhat overlooked that my question was kinda rhetoric... My main point was that there's obviously something heavily compromised in KAV-400xi power supply. Some "empty" watts, with no current enough, as you'd say...

Someone, on another forum, pointed out the whole thing with a very colorful comparison, refering to powerful output transistors and poor power supply to feed them, something like "...a big enough male organ, but with no blood enough to lift it up..."
>>why am I hearing such great air-moving, deep and extended bass from Donald Fagen's Morph the Cat on vinyl<<

The vinyl release of Morph the Cat is a flawed recording.

The bass is totally out of balance and the production team did a terrible job on this record.

Never ever evaluate any system's performance with this record.

Unless of course you want to impress somebody who knows nothing about audio and this recording.
Wow, I'm outta here, too much negativity. Back to listening where it's positive.
Zormi, ahh I didn't pick up on that. So we agree then.

Stevecham, nobody is saying that your stereo doesn't sound good. We are just comparing the A21's power to the Krell 400xi's. You are the one that brought up the "superior" current capability of the Krell piece vs a Parasound piece that you know nothing about. We are just correcting you. If you like your combination then great. I have had the Thiel 2.4's in my system for almost a month, so I am very familiar with them as well. They certainly performed better when the A21 was hooked up to them although I would never characterize the bass as "deep and extended". For an almost $5000 speaker the bass was lacking. The more current heavy an amp that I gave the Thiels the tighter the bass became. They actually had deeper bass in a more underpowered arangment. This is due to the amps inability to control driver excursion resulting in a heavier bass presentation although less accurate. The Thiels had excess brightness, and a metallic midrange which is why I ultimately didn't choose them. They are a sexy speaker though and fit and finish is first rate. They may find a certain synergy with the Krell piece though. If you have them and are happy, than just enjoy them!